The Courage to Pursue Freedom
by Cuffcuffcuff
Summary: Ichigo's relationship is toxic. For him, every day is a battle because Sosuke's manipulative tendencies and harsh beatings always manage to keep a hold of him and stop him from walking out the door. Could the day that he meets a red-headed playboy be the one to finally set him free?
1. Everyone makes mistakes

_Ichigo's relationship is toxic._

 _For him, every day is a battle because Sosuke's manipulative tendencies and harsh beatings always manage to keep a hold of him and stop him from walking out the door. Could the day that he meets a red-headed playboy be the one to finally set him free?_

Ichigo stomped his way home in the pouring rain, the icy liquid somehow managing to penetrate the hood of his raincoat and roll its way down his neck and chest, giving him the shivers all over. This must've been the thousandth time that Sosuke had ordered him to pick up the groceries yet refused to give him some money to catch a bus. It would've been more understandable if the money in question belonged to Sosuke, but that wasn't the case. The money was Ichigo's, and he had sacrificed blood, sweat and tears for it at his 9-5 job in the local supermarket, stacking shelves. As soon as he received his monthly pay check, the money went straight into Sosuke's bank account amidst the billions of Yen that Sosuke had already earned himself and was distributed to Ichigo in the same way that pocket money is distributed to a thirteen-year-old.

His hands were freezing as the handles of the heavy bags dug into his flesh, and he mentally cursed his husband for putting him in such a horrible position. ' _That fucking asshole, why the fuck does he do this to me?'_ At that moment he approached the front door of their shared home and swiftly placed the bags on the step, so he could unlock the door, and find solace from the bitter winds outside. He shook off his soaking coat, kicked off his boots, and made his way into the kitchen, the cold, polished marble making the wetness of his socks feel all the more noticeable. The area was spotless and as Ichigo cast an eye around the room he felt a surge of pride take over him. This was the product of _his_ hard work. He carefully hauled the bags onto the kitchen counter and started to unload the groceries, all was going well until he suddenly came to a halt.

"OH, FUCK NO!" Ichigo exclaimed in despair. "NO NO NO NO _NO!_ He's gonna fucking kill me, I'm gonna have to quickly get back to the store, how could I have forgotten? I'm so fucking stupid!"

What would've been a small slip up for most was a huge mistake for Ichigo, and he knew that with that small mistake would come huge consequences. Sosuke was known by his employees as a patient and fair soul, but Ichigo knew his dark side. He had seen it. He had felt it. Ichigo's hand brushed across his cheek as he raised his hand to his temple in worry, he winced, having momentarily forgotten about the concealer-covered bruise that marked his supple skin. It was a physical remnant of the last time that he had upset his violent husband, and a remnant that although he wished would never come again, he knew would be beaten onto his skin in a few minutes when Sosuke arrived home from work, stressed and aggressive.

Ichigo inhaled deeply and exhaled shortly afterwards, to calm himself down. He composed himself long enough to put the rest of the items away while hoping that his fault wouldn't be noticed, and while he was cleaning up the droplets of water from the coat that he had left in the corridor, he heard the jingle of keys in a lock, and saw the towering shadow of his spouse behind him. Ichigo looked up warily and was surprised to see a glint of happiness in Sosuke's eyes.

"How was work, honey" he asked, picking his nails as he waited nervously for a response.

"It was actually pretty good today, for a change" Sosuke replied while throwing his briefcase at Ichigo and walking into the kitchen. A bead of perspiration rolled down his face as he saw the man take out a cup and boil the kettle. "Wait until I've made a cup of tea then I'll tell you why." Sosuke continued. In that moment Ichigo understood that he'd never know why his husband had a good day at work, he would be sleeping on the floor that night with contusions all over his body, and it would all be because of one stupid mistake.

He'd forgotten to buy tea.

 **Author's Note:** **Apologies for this chapter being so short, it's my first story on this site so for now I'm just testing the waters. I should update within the next few days, though I can't promise you guys anything since I have tonnes of work to do. I really hope you enjoyed reading this, if you did, please leave a review. If you didn't enjoy it, still leave a review! That way I can rectify any issues with the story and ensure that the story can be improved!**

 **Lots of love,**

 **Cuffcuffcuff x**


	2. Reparations

His body shook with abject fear as Sosuke turned to him and gave a misleading smile. "Honey, where's the tea? I could've sworn I'd asked you to get it...?"

"You did, I – I forgot, I'm sorry" Ichigo put his hands together, pleading with his husband to forgive him for his trespasses. He jumped as Sosuke took a step towards him. "But how could you forget? I don't get it". Sosuke continued his approach, the corners of his mouth raised, showing what Ichigo recognised to be fake sereneness. Ichigo started to back away, though he realised his efforts were futile when his back hit a solid wall. He gave a quick glance past Sosuke's side, saw the kitchen's open door and contemplated running, but swiftly reconsidered once his eyes met his spouse's broad shoulders and chest.

He was quite literally stuck between a rock and a hard place.

There was one option. BEG. "Look, baby. I can go straight back to the shop for you, I swear I'll be 5 minutes, no longer! P-please, Sosuke, please let me go back! I'm so sorry!" Tears began to fall from Ichigo's eyes. He'd do anything to prevent what he knew was coming. Hell, he'd give away his life-savings (not that he had any) just to stop Sosuke from delivering his punishment. "You know that I don't accept apologies, my love. Why would I? So that you can get away with it this time, only to repeat the mistake later? I'm tired of you trying to get away with shit Ichigo, you can try to pretend, but I'm not buying what you're trying to sell me."

"NO, I-" Ichigo began, before all words were halted by a tremendous cracking sound, and he was sent to the ground by slap across the face. As he looked up from the cool, marble flooring, he saw the calm façade melt off Sosuke's face, only to be replaced with red hot umbrage. Sosuke was _raging_. Ichigo had seen him angry before, but nothing like this. His forehead looked clammy and as he finally started shouting, a throbbing vein on his temple became visible. The slap had hurt – badly, but it was the power in his voice that sent chills across Ichigo's spine, and Sosuke's next words that pierced him like a dagger to the heart.

'Ichigo, tell me you're not a _complete_ fucking idiot! Don't you know that I could do **SO** MUCH BETTER THAN YOU! I FUCKING SETTLED FOR YOU, I SETTLED FOR YOU DESPITE ALL OF THESE PRETTY, PETITE DAMSELS PRACTICALLY THROWING THEMSELVES AT ME EVERYDAY! Sosuke screamed at him, delivering a harsh kick to his chest, before continuing. "When I made my vows to you, I made them believing that I could be happy, little did I know that I was marrying someone so INCONSIDERATE!"

Tirade over, Sosuke sighed and ran his hands through his slicked hair, observing his work. "Now clean yourself up, you look like a mess" he said, storming out of the kitchen towards their shared bedroom. Ichigo lay there on the floor, where he had been left, where he belonged. He lay there for a good 10 minutes, thinking about everything that had been said, trying to counter his husband's words, however no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any evidence against what Sosuke said. ' _Here I am'_ he thought ' _In Sosuke's house. Tonight, I'll go to sleep in Sosuke's bed, sleep between Sosuke's sheets. He provides all of this for me, yet I don't even have the gratitude to complete one simple task for him?! I'm a disgusting parasite..._

Ichigo knew that Sosuke loved him. After all, if Sosuke didn't love him, he wouldn't come home to him every night. YES, Sosuke punished him, but it was because he _cared_ for Ichigo, and didn't want him to make mistakes.

' _I have to show him that I love him'_ Ichigo said to himself, and with that sentiment, Ichigo managed to compose himself enough to get up off the floor and drag himself to the bathroom where he used his washcloth to dab away at the blood on his swollen lip and apply a little concealer to hide the newly developed bruise on his cheek. When he felt a tad better, he dashed out of the bathroom and through the corridor on his way back to the kitchen. On his way he passed the bedroom and considered going in, but then he heard deep murmuring from Sosuke, and decided against interrupting one of his business related skype calls.

Once he arrived in the kitchen, he immediately rummaged through the cupboards and grabbed all the ingredients needed to make his signature dish – Spicy Shoyu Ramen. The dish was surprisingly simple, but it was one of Sosuke's favourites, and Ichigo was often rewarded with hugs and kisses whenever he made it. Not only that, but the dish reminded Ichigo of his family home. He reminisced, thinking of the time when he'd get home from school during the winter time, and be greeted by the succulent aroma of Yuzu's spectacular cooking. Life was so simple then, and he was so happy. If only things hadn't turned sour once he came out. Ichigo promptly shook his head to rid his mind of the past and set to work. _'Sosuke is gonna love this'_ He raved.

It took a while, because Ichigo hadn't made the dish in a while, but eventually he had two bowls of Ramen, topped with nori, boiled egg, fish cake, scallions, and juicy ChaShu pork. He had even gone to the effort of formally setting the table, with a deep indigo table cloth, and the best tableware he could find in the house. He nervously called Sosuke to the table and waited the couple of seconds it took the man to reply 'What?'. Ichigo neglected to answer, not wanting to ruin the surprise, and waited for him to walk into the dining room. When Sosuke walked in and saw the table, his eyes shone in a rare display of joy. Ichigo fiddled with his hands shyly and after a short pause said "I wanted to apologise for what I did today. I should've considered the possibility of you being stressed from work and I don't know how I let the situation get so out of control, I–." Sosuke interrupted Ichigo's monologue with a gentle kiss to the forehead. "Don't worry about it honey, I've forgotten about it already. Now, sit."

He led Ichigo to his side of the table and pulled out a chair for him to sit on. "I hope you know that I didn't mean what I said earlier, I do love you, it's just that you shouldn't make me lose my temper the way I did, please don't do it again, Ok?" Ichigo nodded enthusiastically, elated that he had been forgiven, and had earned back his husband's respect. "I won't, Sosuke, I promise" he smiled, looking into his eyes, before Sosuke broke eye contact and began to dig in. ' _See? He does love me'_ Ichigo thought, sure that he'd never feel as elated as he just did, when Sosuke finally said the words: 'I love you.'

 **Author's note:** **This took a surprising amount of time to write, because my mind was all over the place. Hopefully this is more enjoyable than the tiny chapter I wrote last time. I'm trying hard to update but work is building up so I don't have much time. I'll try to update within the next week, but for now, thanks for reading and I'll see you soon!**


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